The Lost Hero Redone
by CookieJames
Summary: Did you ever feel like Heroes Of Olympus series didn't live up to it's true potential? I did. So I have gave myself a challenge of rewriting the story of the Seven. Prepare for adventure, tears and terrible puns.
1. Prologos

**The Lost Hero Redone**

 _Prologos_

* * *

Pebble looked back on the fallen bridge and the island surrounded by the deep mist.

She never wanted to be there ever again. Everything she saw in that place was vile and horrible.

Her brothers falling apart into sand and dirt.

Her friends screaming.

Her rock heart pounding ready to burst out.

The fear.

The pain.

The demigod.

His green eyes.

He looked weak and small, like all of them do. Her squad though they could take him on. But something was wrong.

Every sword that hit him bounced back, leaving not even a scratch. Nothing they did had any effect on him. He slashed through her fellow soldiers. Closer and closer. And his green-eyes stared right into their souls. Filling them with fear and turning their legs, or other appendages to rubber.

He sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Dracanae exploded. Hellhounds melted to shadow. The demigod slashed and stabbed and whirled, and laughed.

That laugh still echoed in her mind. But it didn't sound like a monster's laugh. There was no mind or sentience behind it. If she had the thinking capacity required, she would compare it to a hyena's laugh. A laugh that's not even really a laugh, just the sound the animal makes when hunting.

And they were that animal's prey.

She tried to stay as far in the back as she could. Far away from the enemy. But he slew a monster after monster, getting closer with each one. Closer and closer.

Arrows flew on Pebble's head. They didn't hurt her, she didn't even feel them making impact. Her eyes where focused on that killing machine marching towards her. Closer and closer.

Image of his sword ripping her brethren in half flashed through her mind as she watched it killing a monster after monster. At some point he'll just drop it and start tearing them apart with his bare hands. She was sure of it.

Where once there were thousand warriors now there was nearly twenty. They should pull back. They _had_ to pull back. They had to run! And Pebble was the first to do it. Their commander was yelling, but she couldn't hear what.

It was the most terrifying run of her life. She felt like she was running through mud, her legs were so weak. Or maybe they just turned into mud from fear. She'll be left behind and he'll be right there, waiting for her. She could feel his eyes on her back.

Finally she saw it. The purple banners billowing in the wind. Her brother's warriors on horses.

He was there himself. Commanding and imposing as ever. Even in this small, pink, fleshy body he still looked regal. Seeing his golden eyes filled her with hope. She can make it. She can survive.

When Pebble reached the bridge she breathed a sigh of relief.

The demigod's army just stood doing nothing. They didn't have to do anything. Their leader was like a battering ram. Only one fighter stayed with him.

Pebble stayed on the back, to avoid being attacked. But the demigod was still pushing forward.

Until he stopped.

Something happened! The demigod was crouching, holding another flesh thing in his arms. Protecting it.

The demigod that just before murdered an army of monsters suddenly looked so small. So young. So scared. The eyes that just a moment ago were filled with predotory bloodlust where now filled with fear and compassion.

And then they filled with rage.

\- Get back! No one touches her! - he screamed. If he wanted, he could kill all of them. All except for her brother. And the demigod knew it.

\- Bravely fought, Percy Jackson. But it's time to surrender... or the girl dies - he said towering over the demigod.

But that's when Pebble's mind turned off. Suddenly nothing mattered. All Pebble could think about was the girl.

It was bleeding, and looked around with it's grey eyes like a deer shot by a hunter. Helpless and scared.

Something in Pebble's simple mind switched into place.

 _Grey eyes. Blood._

 _Grey eyes._

 _Blood._

 _Grey eyes._

 _Blood._

The green eyes and the golden eyes looked at each other with hatred as their owners clashed.

And Pebble didn't even bother to look at them.

Even when the girl was picked up from the battlefield and flew away, all Pebble saw was it's blood.

Even as the bridge started shaking.

Cracking.

Crashing down.

 _Grey eyes. Blood._

She jumped forward.

Earthy, clumpy hand touched the puddle and the blood soaked into the brown, dirty skin, like water into the ground.

And then the bridge fell. And she feel with it in the the eerie, murky waters of the river below.

* * *

Pebble finally swam to the sore. She reeked of the disgusting river and her body was soggy from the water. Her hand was holding an empty bottle. It will have to do.

A muddy finger meet the bottleneck. The dirt and water stayed right where they were, and the bottle filled with the blood. She bottled it up and started walking.

She didn't know where, but something inside her pushed her forward.

She looked back on the fallen bridge and the island surrounded by the deep mist.

She turned around and started walking away, leaving the green-eyed demigod, the golden-eyed king, the girl, her friends, the bridge, the city, the war behind.

And as she walked the laugh echoing in her head stopped. The images of carnage disappeared. Just one thought repeated itself in her mind.

 _Blood of Olympus..._


	2. Chapter I

**Apollo's note:** Hello, wonderful readers. You may be wondering what happened with the original chapter I and II. Well, the author wasn't satisfied with many things in it, especially the pacing, or the scene in which Leo puts his hand... Ok, let's forget that happened. So he decided on this new version. Hope you will enjoy it as much as the original, if not more. Love. - _The best god_

* * *

 **The Lost Hero Redone**

Chapter I - _Pipes and Leo  
_

* * *

For a quick moment all that he was, was nothing. A nobody dead to the world. Until he heard her voice.

"You think he's gonna be ok?"

Suddenly a light switched on in his mind.

"I don't know, Pipes." someone else said.

Finally his eyelids twitched. His fingertips moved slightly. His whole body slowly begun coming back to life.

"Shhh! He's waking up."

He couldn't see anything the first time he opened his eyes. Only when the black fog that surrounded his mind dissipated could he see anything. Once it faded away the first image he saw was two pairs of eyes starring at him intently. They four eyes blinked when they saw he was awake. He screamed at the top of his lungs like a little girl.

He jumped to his feet trying to get away from them. The eyes were actually attached to someone. Two someones in fact. They had to look up to even see his face, they were so tiny. They looked young, maybe in their teens. Boy and a girl. Both of them as wet as a drowned rat. With the same smell as a drowned rat to booth.

They looked like siblings, or maybe cousins. Both short, with olive skin and the same pointed up nose, that looked somehow cute. The also had the same passion in their eyes, though while in the girl it appeared as a concerned look, in the boy it emerged in the form of a distrustful scowl. The boy covered the girl with his own body, admirable, considering he had absolutely no chances in a physical fight. It was like a chihuahua picking a fight with a french mastiff.

He was shorter than her, possibly because of his hunchback posture. That, coupled with his chubby body, impish looks and the dripping wet trench coat with various patches and stitches made him look like he belonged in a Frankenstein movie. His eyes looked like they were made from amber, with two pupils stuck in there like insects. Droplets of water dripped down his face from the locks of his black, greasy hair.

The girl looked from over the boy's shoulder. Her eyes were big and black, like the night sky, and they were fixed on the stranger before her. Her brown hair looked like it was recently used to clean floors, with how dirty, matted and wet it was, like she a mop toupée.

They were illuminated from behind with orange light from a crackling campfire. The warm aura was annoyingly close enough to be felt, but not close enough to warm his trembling body.

"Hey." the girl said waving awkwardly to him. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

"Yeah, and who's gonna stop him from hurting us?" said the boy, rolling his eyes at his friend, before she smacked him upside the head.

Then she returned to starring kindly at our lost hero, like nothing had happened. She made a few steps and crouched again. Presumably to look less dangerous, but it was kind of pointless, considering how tiny she was.

"We won't hurt you, I promise." she said reaching her hand out to him.

He crouched as well, though he still towered over her. Then he slowly moved his hand. He gently touched her palm with his fingers.

"Yeah. It's okay. See?" she said. She tried reaching out to touch him.

"NO!" the large hand slapped her own small one away. The short boy stepped closer, ready to intervene, but the girl stopped him with a single glance.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have." she said waving her hands. When she spoke, his tense body relaxed. There was something about her voice that put him at ease.

"S-sorry." he mumbled. "Sorry." he repeated.

"It's okay." the girl answered, but her voice faltered a little. "Looks like you need some time to yourself. We'll stay close in case you need anything, ok?"

He didn't answer. The strangers walked away. The boy sat alone in the shadows, fondling around with something mechanical. The girl sat next to the fire, humming to herself. She had something pink stretched out on a stick, and was holding it above the flames. He could feel both of them starring at him. The girl shot him tiny glances from time to time, while the boy was burning holes in his skull with his intense glare.

 _Some time to yourself._ He starred blankly into the distance. _Some time to_ yourself, he repeated irritated, trying to find the meaning of those words. _Some time to yourself._ His mind was empty.

He closed his eyes, but all he saw was darkness. Random words floated around in his head. _House. Car. English. Steak. Brick._ To each word there was attached a meaning, a taste, a sight, a smell. Wonderful feelings. But no memory of where these images come from.

But _yourself?_ What did it even mean!? Because when he looked inside to see himself, there was absolutely nothing there.

He took a hold of one lock of his hair and held it before his eyes. It was blonde. He looked down at himself. His arms looked big, at least compared to the other two humans he knew - the ones he just met. The rest of his body seemed to be covered in some sort of clothing. They were wet, just like the boy's and the girl's. His top was dark blue and made of a thick material, in several places there were big holes with black edges, like something burned them out. In the middle, right above his belly there was a big pouch. He put his hand into it, and pulled out a silver coin. There were some engravings on it, but when he put it up to his face, it was too smudged to see any detail. He checked his clothing for any other holes storing some trinkets, but he found nothing.

He collapsed on the ground in the state of silent panic. He stared at the ceiling of the building with a nine-yard stare, trying to cobble together a thought. A fruitless task. His brain was malfunctioning. His left eye started twitching.

He looked around. He was in a very big building. The walls were made of metal, and had a lot of small windows, some of them shattered, wind blowing through them. Upon the walls there was some graffiti. Though, strangely, instead of being scratched on, it was painted on. Some of it was colorful and elaborate, some of it was drab and simple.

One read "Jeff rlz".

Another "Jeff was here".

And yet another "Jeff was here... again".

That Jeff must be a great man indeed if he was chronicled upon these walls.

He could hear seagulls and ships far away, and see the night sky outside of the broken windows. So he was in some abandoned warehouse, in a port probably.

That triggered something inside him. A memory.

He was floating. It was a feeling unlike any other. Above him stars shone. Bellow him clouds flew lazily across the sky. His lungs filled with fresh, cold air with every breathe. Then he started falling. Sleet cut into his face like millions of tiny knives. The lazy clouds were left behind, and now instead of the lights of the stars he saw lights of the city bellow, charging at him like an animal ready to tear him apart, or in this case smash him to pieces. The wind smacking his face made his eyes well up with tears. And suddenly, again he felt coldness, but this time different. He breathed in the cold night air, but instead he got a mouthful of water. He began violently jerking around when he realized he was about to drown.

Suddenly he grabbed his head when intense pain pulsed through it. It felt like his skull was about to split open. The girl run up to him quickly.

"Everything okay?!" she asked.

The pain disappeared as fast as it came. His brain was fully operational yet again, well, at least as much as it was before. He breathed a big sigh of relief and sat down on the pile of dirty rags. His eye started twitching again.

"No." he said to the girl. "Not okay."

She sat next to him, but not too close. Her shoulders were tense.

"You wanna talk about it?" the girl asked.

"No." he said bluntly.

"Okay." she said, starring at the campfire, before she added, "You hungry?"

His rumbling stomach answered for him.

"Yes."

The girl grabbed his hand, which he didn't smack away this time, and lead him to the fire. She sat him next to it. It felt really good and warm.

The girl reached with a stick into it, and pulled out what looked like a charred rock. Then she split it open, and he saw yellow mush inside.

"It's a potato!" she exclaimed when he looked at it confused. "We stole these from a stand some time ago. They can last a few days, there's a lot of them, and we've got a quick way of cooking them." she explained, handing it over to him.

He sniffed it. It smelled eatable. Without a second thought he bit into it. His teeth crunched the black outer shell and sank into the tender potato flesh.

"Careful, it's still hot!" the girl warned him.

He didn't listen. In a few bites he ate the whole thing. His tongue felt a bit numb afterwards, but his stomach felt good.

"You could have salted it at least." she said, pulling out a salt shaker from her pocket, "Also stolen." she said with a wink, before sprinkling it onto her half of the potato. She bit off a bit, then salted it again, and handed it to him. "See? It tastes better that way." she said with her mouth still full of potato.

He took a nibble. Then he put the whole thing into his mouth and gobbled it up.

"It does taste better." he admitted.

"Hey, that was mine!" she said, pouting at him.

"Sorry." he said looking away embarrassed.

"No problem," she said shrugging, pulling out two more from the flames.

As they ate together, he could notice the girl sliding ever so closer to him. She was humming song upbeat song, while tapping her foot to the rhythm of it.

"I was pretty worried about you, you know. Thought you may not make it." she said out of the blue.

"You know something!? What happened to me!?" he asked, grabbing the girl by the shoulders, startling her. She could feel her little heart thumping. He took took his big hands away from her arms, looking down timidly. "Sorry."

"It's alright, just... don't grab me like that, okay?" she said, regaining her composure.

"Okay." he promised.

"You fell." she said, "From the sky." she waved her hand around and down, like it was a falling plane. "Right into the port. I had to pull you out. You sure are a big, heavy guy."

"Sorry for being heavy" he said. " And thank you. For the food and... everything else."

"No problem." she beamed him a warm smile.

"Hey, Pipes, mind sharing, or are you just gonna eat the whole thing with your new boyfriend?" asked the shorty, not even looking in their direction, he still played with his gizmo.

"Sure," she said, throwing another black lump his way, "You big baby." He grabbed it effortlessly and started eating, seemingly ignoring the insult.

The abnormally large man looked at the boy confused. Why would someone sit away from the fire? Especially if they were dripping wet, and cold.

"He doesn't like fire." the girl explained, whispering, as if she read his mind. "Also, he doesn't like you. That's why he's brooding in the shadows."

"I heard that!" the boy said. "Could you not tell my deepest, darkest fears to- YAH!" the boy yelped. He turned his head to his friend, wanting to give her a stern glare, but his eyes caught a glimpse of the flames. He quickly turned back around. "Ekhem... Like I said, could you not share my secrets with a random dude who will probably murder us in our sleep?"

"I wouldn't kill you." 'random dude' said, munching on a potato. "You gave me food."

"That's sweet." the girl said smiling.

"Yah, adorable." the boy scoffed.

"You have to forgive him." the pretty girl said with a cheeky grin. "He's always like this."

"Is he a plumber?" he asked, pointing at the chubby boy.

"What? Why?"

"He was talking about pipes."

"Oh. No. No." she chuckled. "It's my name." she explained. "Short for Piper."

"It's nice." he said, then pointed at the boy. "What's his name?"

"Leo."

"What's that short for?"

"It's short for 'Leo', derived from 'Leo', related to the root word 'Leo'." the boy said stand-offishly.

"Cool." he answered not picking up on any sarcasm.

"By the way, you may want to remove this, you'll dry faster." the girl said holding the blue material he was wearing.

He immediately listened to her and took off the wet clothing, tossing it aside.

"Wow." the girl said when she got a good look at his body. Before her stood a mountain of solid, rippling muscles. She stood there drooling for a moment, before something else caught her attention. She touched his bicep. "How did you get these?"

He looked to see what she was talking about. Where the girl was touching him there were three big slashes running across his arm. He traced them with his fingers. It looked like something mauled him long ago.

"There's more of those on your back." the girl said, looking on the tormented flesh. "What were you doing before you fell to that bay?"

"I don't remember."

The girl paused for a moment.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"I don't remember."

"Shut up." the boy called Leo exclaimed and hopped off the pile of bricks. He made his way to them, but flinched next to the fire. He pulled out a pair of goggles and put them on his face. They looked old, made of bronze, with black glass covering the eyes. "For real?"

"Yeah."

"You lost your memories?" asked Leo.

"... Probably." the incredibly tall young man said.

"Do you remember anything about yourself?" Leo asked.

"No."

"Do you think he's got brain damage?" Pipes asked concerned.

"Maybe." Leo said stroking his chin. "Or maybe he's bluffing to gain our trust."

Suddenly a word popped into his head. A word he didn't know the meaning off.

"Guys." he said, "What are the immortal gods?"

Pipes' big eyes grew even bigger. Leo's eyebrows lifted up room behind the goggles.

 _ **CLANG!**_

A metallic crash echoed through the whole building. Everything went silent. Before a bloodcurdling hiss filled the air.

"Fuck!" Leo cursed. "They found us!"

"Who?"

"No time!" the chubby boy said, rummaging through trash. "Put down the fire!"

Pipes quickly did so, covering it with sand and stomping on it. The big guy felt bad thinking about all the wasted potatoes. Leo on the other hand finally found what he was looking for. He pulled out a big banner. It had a black and white checkerboard pattern, and a colorful logo that read 'NASCAR'.

"What's that?"

"It's our protection from _that._ " the shorty said, pointing his head at the door. The sound of hissing was getting closer. "Reeks of mortals. Masks our scent."

"To whom?! Protection from what?!" the young man asked, getting more and more frustrated.

The boy didn't give him an answer, just lead him to a pile of trash. They all three buried themselves in it and covered it with the banner.

That's when the sickening sound of slithering and the acrid smell of acid filled the air inside the warehouse. It was here.

It moved slowly, to not scare away the prey. There was a demigod close. A big, juicy halfbreed, with the delectable godly blood coursing through their veins. They were close. The forked tongue danced in the air, catching different smells around it. Seawater. Rats. Fire. And some other smell. The beast gave it a closer inspection. _Mortals! Yuck!_

The long, scale-covered body moved forth, like one giant muscle, stalking around the hideout.

A couple centimetres away, the halfbloods were trying not to scream. They were lucky the monster couldn't hear their hearts, that pounded like jackhammers at the moment. Sweat dripped down Leo's forehead. Or maybe it was water. He wasn't really sure.

Piper left a rat brush against her leg. It was running away from the certain doom that was slithering across the warehouse.

Meanwhile, the lost hero, who didn't even know his name was stuck in combat with his own nose. The rugs turned out to be very dusty. He knew sneezing would equal death. And so he put all of his will to hold off the urge. Somehow he managed to do it.

Pipes however lacked such power of will.

 _ **ACHOOO!**_

The reptile twitched. It couldn't hear the sound. But it could see the pile of trash jumping and feel the air vibrate around it.

With incredible speed it seized it's prize. It bit into the rags and swung them away with a quick jerk of it's powerful neck. Before it's eyes appeared a beautiful image. Not one, but three demigods! The beast salivated upon seeing such feast.

But it didn't strike immediately. It's face was inches away from them, hovering just above their heads. Like it was toying with them. It's scales where light green. It's eyes were big, and in a very venomous shade of the same color. The little slits looked straight at them. The beast opened it's mouth, revealing the fleshy inside, with two rows of sharp teeth at the top and one row at the bottom. It looked almost like it was smiling at their misery.

In a fraction of the second the beast struck like a spear, ready to plant itself in the big demigod's chest. The two huge, hook-like fangs ejected from it's gums, to bite into the tender demigod flesh. But they never got the chance to.

The monster was stopped in it's path by a firm hand wrapped around it's throat. The grip tightened, swiftly squeezing the life out of the foul beast. The creature fell apart into dust. And before it stood the nameless hero. His many scars illuminated by the pale moonlight, and him more confused and dumbstruck than ever.

"Wha?" he mumbled starring at his own hands.

Pipes and Leo looked at him in awe and fear. For a moment they just laid there with their jaws to the floor.

"Ho-lee-sheet." Leo whispered.

"Oh my gods!" Pipes said, amazed.

"Ho-lee-fuck." Leo whispered.

"That was awesome!" Pipes yelled out, jumping to her feet.

"It was?" the young man asked.

"Hell yeah it was! You totally saved our butts today!" Piper said, gently nudging him in his broad chest.

"This guy just killed a dracon with his bare hands." Leo sounded like an inflatable toy releasing air. He was still laying on the ground, curled up in a fetal position.

"I know! Isn't this awesome?!" Pipes asked.

"We're so fucking dead."


	3. Chapter II

**Apollo's note:** Hi, if you're wondering what just happened and why the chapter is different, I suggest checking out chapter I for explanation. Hugs and kisses from me and the author - _Your favorite god_

* * *

 **The Lost Hero Redone**

Chapter II _-_ _It's raining boys!_

* * *

"Hallelujah!" the homeless girl shouted, waving a wallet in the air.

"Get back here!" Gary cried out between heavy breaths. "I'm calling the police!"

"Good luck with that!" the boy taunted him as he run.

With ease the two brats outrun the middle-aged accountant and left him in the dust. His condition wasn't what it used to be, his diet consisting mostly of donuts was probably to blame.

He was actually leaving the bakery with a full baker's dozen, when he saw them. The two miserable creatures sat on the sidewalk, all dirty and sad. The girl, taller of the two, held a tin can, which was empty save for two pennies and a bottle cap.

Gary walked up to the two street rats, inspected them, looked at the cans, as if he was considering if he should bless them with his charity. Finally he reached into the box and pulled out a beautiful chocolate glaze doughnut. The round pastry glistened in the sun like a halo of an angel. The tall girl looked at him, her huge eyes where filled with hunger and hope, her tummy rumbled.

He reached out the hand with the sweet goodness to her, and her own dirty hand started reaching for it. At that exact moment Gary pulled the doughnut away and stuffed it in his mouth. He smiled, very satisfied by his little prank.

It's the little things in life that count. This was going to be a good day for Gary Novak.

Or so he thought, before the girl wiped the grin from his face by sucker-punching him right in his gut. The chunks of half eaten doughnut flew into the air, and Gary hit the ground, his body contorted in pain. The kids started searching his pockets, and he was powerless to stop them from taking his wallet.

... and his doughnuts.

Before he could recover and start the pursuit, the runaways were already far ahead of him.

"Thanks for the dinner, sucker!" Piper yelled from across two streets, holding the box of donuts in the air. She had a huge, proud grin on her face.

"Man, what a dick." Leo said through clenched teeth. It felt good to see an asshole get punched in the gut every once in a while. It's not exactly justice in the world, but it was something at least.

"M-hm." Piper agreed wholeheartedly as she munched on a bakery goodie with chocolate glaze.

"Hey, maybe leave some for when we get back?"

"Sorry." she said, licking the chocolate from the corners of her lips.

Gary could only watch and shake his fist as the two kids walked away.

The way to their hideout wasn't long. However the setting sun told them to pick up their pace. No matter how dangerous Frisco was during the daytime, it had nothing on the city at night.

They walked past Irish Hill. It wasn't much of a hill though. To Piper it always looked more like an Irish Pile of Dirt. The original Hill was dug up many years ago, leaving only a little stump pointing of from the ground. They passed several broken down buildings. Some of them were abandoned, others were leased to tenants, like artists who couldn't afford a better place.

They made their way to their hideout, Warehouse No. 6. It was a large metal construction, eaten out by rust. Glass from the broken windows littered the floor, and you had to watch out to not step into out, especially if you only had one shoe, like Piper. The walls were covered in graffiti. Colonies of rats were born, lived, and died inside the building. Home, sweet home.

It was built in 1941, and was used in World War II for building ships, but it was closed since the 1989 earthquake. Making it a perfect place for a couple of runaways

One side of the long building faced the docks, with remnants of the berthing piers rotting away. Decay was the default state of pier 70, everything here was wasting away. Buildings. Hills. People.

On the other side of Warehouse No. 6 there was a rusted ladder, that led to a metal platform suspended about 10 metres in the air.

Pipes liked to climb there and let her feet dangle. Right on the edge, supporting her arms on the railing. Sometimes she spent the whole day just sitting there, looking into the horizon, past the dark green water and the working metal cranes. wondering what lies outside of this city.

Leo, who wasn't as daring, usually sat cramped in the corner, watching out for monsters.

The sun set right as they climbed their little nest. Luckily Leo pulled out a flashlight, which also doubled as a lantern from, his trench coat. It would never cease to amaze Piper that he always had exactly what they needed hidden inside the dirty attire. Sometimes even things that logically shouldn't fit into a trench coat.

They dug into the donuts. Piper ate one after another. After 10 days of potatoes and occasional roasted rat they tasted ungodly amazing. The two didn't exactly have the best diet, as the muffin-top forming slowly but surely on Piper's stomach could assure, but the girl didn't care, she was happy to have her belly full.

Leo on the other hand wasn't even touching the donuts. Which wasn't like Leo at all. It came to Piper's attention that he was uncharacteristically silent too. Usually he would annoy her with his jokes by now and fight with her over the last doughnut.

"What's wrong, Leo?" she asked, her concern taking priority over her gluttony.

"It's nothing, I just..." he said, stumbling with his words.

"Spit it out."

"Summer's coming in two months."

Her first thought was to question how did Leo know this, but then again, it shouldn't be a surprise. Compared to her, Leo was a genius. Compared to anyone really. He probably could determine the time of the year based on the stars or something. Or he just looked at a calendar somewhere. Either way, genius.

Piper didn't really pay attention to stuff like that, nor did she care, so this information came as news to her.

Wow? Already? Has it really been that long?

"I like summers." Piper said. "Starry nights, sunny days, blue skies, the beach, papaya juice... And let's not forget the loads of suckers with full wallets coming to vacation." she smirked, hoping to cheer him up a bit, but he still looked glum.

"I just don't like them, okay?" something in his voice told her there was more to it. But she won't dwell on it. It was none of her business.

She didn't know much about his life before they met. She didn't even know his last name. He was just "Leo". But she didn't complain about it. As long as he didn't ask her any questions either.

She only knew that he's been away from his home for far longer than she was, even though he was her age. One only could wonder what life was like for him. Probably not great.

"Alright. I get it. Summer bad." she said, understandingly. "You're gonna eat that?" she said pointing at the last two donuts.

"Of course I am!" he said, turning away from her, taking a huge bite, and chewing it with a face that said "Try to take it away, and see what happens."

"I earned them with my hard work." he said, with his cheeks full of doughnut.

Piper smiled. They say that America is a the Land of the Free. Piper didn't believe that BS. She saw those so called free citizens, slaves to their own jobs and taxes, who buy useless crap because the TV told them they need it. That wasn't freedom. This was.

Freedom to decide for yourself what you're going to do today. Freedom to go to sleep when you want to, even if your bed was a pile of trash. Freedom to eat what you want to, even if there were days you couldn't find any food. She never felt more free than there, before or after, in the rusting away pier in San Francisco, living with Leo.

Piper gave her clothes a whiff. They smelled like hot garbage, she thought with pride. Back at home they would probably tell her to wash it. Not here. This is what freedom smelled like.

The girl laid down on the metal flooring and listened to the cries of seagulls as they flew by. Shame she couldn't see stars, but those are the downsides of living in the big city. It was still Heaven on Earth. Or, whatever the Greeks believed in.

And then the gods said "Fuck your Heaven, Pipes!".

Out from nowhere thick storm clouds formed and grew before they enveloped the entire sky. The dense cover of darkness lit up from time to time with a lightning strike. The air sizzled. Rain poured on their faces and clothes. A strong wind blew and Piper's hair covered her vision for a moment. She had to spit out some of her greasy hair from her mouth. Leo's last doughnut flew away with the box, never to be seen again.

"HEY!"

The two teenagers didn't even get a time to react, when a streak of light split the heavens, speeding like a comet and roaring like a jet plane, before landing with a splash and hiss in the port. And just like that the storm clouds started receding and before you could say "Peter Johnson" they were gone.

"What was that about?" Pipes said confused.

"The gods of Olympus stole my fucking donut!" Leo cried out in outrage.

Piper didn't really empathize with her friend's loss. She swiftly grabbed the flashlight and climbed the ladder down as fast as she could. Very carefully, she approached the shore, glowing the light where she saw the thing crash.

There was something in the port, behind the rotting wooden stumps left after the piers. It glowed a pale blue hue in the darkness of the night. A few bubbles appeared on the surface of the water. Each bubble bigger than the last. Pipes quickly backed away from the water, ready to run from whatever monster was about to jump out.

But instead of a monster, a man jumped out, flailing his arms around and screaming at the top of his lungs. He gasped for air, but didn't realize he was sinking. Instead of air, he breathed in water, and he began chocking. He splashed around a bit more, like a defenseless seal caught by a shark, before he disappeared in the dark water.

Piper reacted before she could think. Ignoring Leo's cries and warning she jumped into the black waves.

The port was dim, but luckily the flashlight was waterproof. She could see the man's blurry outline falling slowly to the bottom. A few bubbles escaped his mouth. As she swam down, she felt pressure press on her head, but she pushed forward. Sea monsters hiding already caught her scent. She swam forward. Just a little bit more.

She reached out, but to no avail. She swam deeper. She tried to grasp his hand again, but was too late. He was sinking too fast.

The girl was running out of air. She felt a burning pain from inside her chest. One last try.

She reached out and grabbed the big hand. She didn't realize how big he was. Or how heavy he would be. Instead of her pulling him up, he was dragging her down.

Piper had to keep her brain from panicking. She put every ounce of muscle and willpower in her nimble body to work. She can do this. Common! With all her strength she pulled. And he moved. Pipes swam as fast as she could. She could see the surface. She couldn't hold her breath any longer. She had to breathe! But if she did it now, she would only get a healthy dose of stinkwater directly into her respiratory system.

When she thought she can't hold on much longer, her head popped out of the murky water. She greedily gasped for oxygen, welcoming the chilly night air. She felt so weak. She couldn't keep herself and the big guy afloat. She was starting to see black spots before her eyes. And in this moment of despair Leo came to her aid. She felt his hand grasp hers firmly.

Leo hugged burly man and helped her swim to the shore. It was a hard task, but they somehow managed to do it.

They fell onto the rocky ground, breathing heavily. The little serpents that where so close to getting their midnight snack swam away disappointed.

"Never..." Leo wheezed, "Do that... again."

"Never.." she wheezed back, drawing an X on her chest with her finger. "Promise."

* * *

"And then what?!" the lost hero asked, listening to the story intently like a little child.

"Leo gave you mouth-to-mouth." Piper explained with a smirk and Leo cringed.

"And then what?"

"You woke up." said Pipes.

The man was silent for a moment.

"... And then what?"

Pipes chuckled.

"I think you know the rest of the story."

"Oh," he realized. "Yeah."

The trio was sitting around the rebuilt campfire. Leo of course was facing away from the flames. His back was completely dry, while his front was still soaking wet. The protective banner was laying sadly on the ground, shredded to pieces by the dracon's fangs and melted by it's acidic spit. It just read 'SCAR' now.

"You better tell us how you killed that dracon. I mean, you were hella fast." Pipes said.

"I don't know. It just kinda... happened." he said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Oh, _how convenient._ " Leo said, butting in so close to the big man he was taking up most of his vision, before Pipes shoved him away with her hands.

"That was pretty cool." she said.

"Thanks, Piper." he smiled.

Mention of her name reminded her of something.

"I've been thinking. If you want to stay with us, we've got to think of a name for you."

"Uh, Pipes, can I talk to you for a second?" Leo said and the two walked away far enough so that their new companion couldn't hear them. "Are you nuts?!" he whisper-yelled.

"What?"

"This... guy shows up out of nowhere and you're acting like you just found a puppy on the street."

"Did you see what he did to that dracon? With him, we'll never have to hide from monsters!"

Leo grabbed her by her shirt and pulled her closer to his round head.

"Think for once, you idiot. If he did this to a dracon, what can he do to us?

"Why would he hurt us?" Piper whisper-yelled back. "Besides, we can't just leave him alone!"

"Yes we can." Leo answered.

"What if monsters come for him?"

"You're right, we should warn them about him, before he murders them!" Leo spat back.

"Come on!" the girl whined.

"We're not taking him in. And that's it." Leo said. And he meant it. Nothing could change his mind. Except...

"Leo..." Pipes said, in the saddest voice she could muster.

"Oh no."

But it was too late. Piper started using _that_ voice. And giving him _that_ look. That teary-eyed, sad puppydog look. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn't. Every stinking time he fell for it. There was just something about her that made him unable to say 'no' to her. And he hated it.

"Please, let's take him in." she begged, looking of so very miserable.

"Pipes..." he begged, his resolve waning. But she was merciless. Her big eyes grew twice their size, and he could see them water up, like she was about to cry-

"FINE!" Leo agreed, defeated, and Pipes beamed him a smile that could melt the Arctic. He hated how much he loved it. "But whatever happens, this was your idea! So don't come crawling to me for help if things go to hell!"

"You won't regret this!" the girl assured with a big smile, and humming an upbeat tune strolled back to her new friend. He was starring blankly at the campfire through the entire conversation and didn't even pay attention to them.

"I already do." Leo mumbled to himself.

"So," Piper started. "What do you want your new name to be?"

"You pick." he said.

Piper looked up and down at the young man.

"Hmm," she thought. "Sky."

"Sky? Because he fell from the sky? That's not very creative." Leo said.

"Sky." the lost hero repeated, like he was tasting the new name in his mouth. "Sky. I like it." he said with a smile.

Piper was very proud of it. She wanted to say something, but a big yawn interrupted her.

"Sorry." she said. "It's been a long day."

"You should probably get some sleep." Sky said.

She yawned again and agreed in a sleepy voice. He took her in his arms and laid her down on a bed made of rags. It had to do.

"You better get some sleep too." he told Leo. "I'll be watching over you."

"Oh no. No way, _hombre._ _You_ go to sleep." he said with force. "And _I_ will be watching _you._ "

Sky just shrugged, said "Alright.", and fell on the 'bed' next to Pipes.

As he drifted off, he repeated his new name with a smile.

 _Sky. Sky. Sky._

* * *

Sky was woken up from his sleep by an amazing smell. He left his 'bed' to see Pipes roasting some tiny creatures above the flames. She was wearing a pink, dirty hoodie.

"Welcome to 'Piper's', the best restaurant in Pier 70. Chef Piper recommends our dish of the day," she said pulling out a makeshift skewer from the campfire and showing off the beautifully browned meat. "Rat kebab."

"I'll have two please, Chef Piper." he said, as he starred at the rats like a dracon ready to attack.

"Here you go." she said passing him the skewer, and impaling two more pink creatures on another, while Sky sloppily devoured his.

"Those are delicious!" he audibly moaned. "You are a great hunter."

"Me? Nah." Piper blushed, "It's all thanks to Leo. He built little traps to catch them. I just skin them and gut them." she said waving a small, broken kitchen knife like a proud serial killer. "And even that he had to show me how."

"I've been meaning to talk to you." Sky said between bites of the vermin meat. "You didn't answer my question."

"What question?" Piper asked, smiling in a way that said that she absolutely knew what question he was talking about.

"You know," he said squinting, "What are the immortal gods? And what's a dracon?"

Piper sighed. "I was afraid you'd ask that. Especially since Leo is asleep. He would explain it better than I could."

"Shoot." he said determined.

"Ever heard of Greek mythology?" Pipes started.

"You mean like.. Hercules?" he asked.

"Yeah." Pipes nodded her head. "But actually no. Leo explained it to me. They use Hercules in the movies, but that's wrong. Romans called him Hercules, Greeks called him Heracles."

"So what does this Heracles, or Hercules, or whoever he is has to do with me?"

"Those myths aren't myths." Piper said. "They happened. They're real. All of them. Heroes. Gods. And most importantly, monsters. A dracon is one of them They're nasty, acid-spitting snake-dragons. Luckily the one from yesterday was small."

"I'd hate to see a big one."

"Hehe, me too." Piper said chuckling nervously. "But those are just the tip of the iceberg. Leo told me about cyclops that can mimic the voices of your loved one to lead you to their lair, where they cook you up in a pot and eat you, or giant dogs with glowing red eyes. Harpies, bird ladies with razor sharp claws!" she pulled her shirt up and showed him several nasty scars in her stomach. "They grabbed me once. Thought I was a goner. At first I didn't believe that. I mean, monsters? Gods? What's next, aliens?"

"Are aliens real too?"

"Probably." Pipes said. "Never met one though.

"Leo said that monster was repelled by mortals." Sky said. "So I guess we aren't mortals?"

Piper nodded her head.

"Then what are we?"

"Demigods." he heard a voice behind his back. He turned around to see Leo smiling grimly. "Halfbloods. Some Greek god came down from Olympus, romanced your mamma or papa, and made you, but deemed you too much trouble for them, so they left. Welcome to Team Halfblood, buddy. Hope you'll get eaten first."

With that he went away, leaving Sky to ponder his new reality that was thrust upon him.

"One more thing." he said popping out from behind the doors of the warehouse. "Make my rat extra crispy."


End file.
